Flowerbed sales order system and plant arrangement planning support program

ABSTRACT

There is provided a flowerbed sales order system capable of freely design a desired flowerbed and ordering the designed flowerbed by a simple procedure. 
     The present invention relates to a flowerbed sales order system including a user terminal, a server apparatus capable of communicating with the user terminal, and an arrangement identificator which identifies arrangement of different colors and/or different types of plants for each of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed, in which the user terminal includes an order placement request transmitter which transmits an order request of the flowerbed having the arrangement identified by the arrangement identificator by an operation of a user, and the server apparatus includes an order placement request receiver which receives the order request of the flowerbed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a flowerbed sales order system and aplant arrangement planning support program.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, so-called gardening to enjoy gardening in gardens andverandas has been widely recognized as a general hobby, there is a needto freely design a desired flowerbed and purchase the designed flowerbedby a simple procedure.

Furthermore, it is difficult to recognize the type and the number ofplants necessary for forming a desired flowerbed and the like withoutconsiderable knowledge regarding gardening, and this is an obstacle whenan inexperienced person in gardening actually challenges gardening.

In addition, it is difficult to accurately predict a completed form at astage of planning arrangement and planting the plants in the flowerbed.There has been a problem in that a situation easily occurs in which thecompleted flowerbed and the like to which the plants are actuallyarranged and planted is different from the desired flowerbed and thelike.

To solve the above problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 proposes asystem for supporting design and construction of a flowerbed by using aninformation terminal. The system in Patent Literature 1 includes aflowerbed design means which determines a shape and color arrangement ofa flowerbed by referring to data stored in a database, a conditionsetting means which sets a condition of the designed flowerbed, and aconstruction support means which selects materials necessary forconstructing the designed flowerbed and creates a construction plan ofthe flowerbed. Patent Literature 1 discloses that a three-dimensionalschematic diagram of the flowerbed determined by the flowerbed designmeans is displayed on a user terminal as a perspective view.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2002-117243 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As described above, there is a need to freely design a flowerbed havinga desired size, shape, pattern, and the like and to purchase thedesigned flowerbed by a simple procedure. However, a system which caneasily design and make a sales order of the flowerbed does not exist sofar.

By the way, an impression received from the flowerbed may widely varydepending on a direction and a height from which the flowerbed isviewed. However, the system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, athree-dimensional schematic diagram expressing a conceptional drawing ofthe flowerbed can be viewed only from a certain direction and angle.Therefore, a flowerbed formed based on the construction plan is notnecessarily a flowerbed which is truly desired by a user.

Furthermore, since flowering times of plants vary according to the typeof the plant, the impression received from the flowerbed variesaccording to the time. However, the system in Patent Literature 1 cannotdisplay the three-dimensional schematic diagram of the flowerbed foreach time. Therefore, there has been a problem in that it is notpossible to support to form a flowerbed which is changed for each time.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. Inother words, a first object of the present invention is to provide aflowerbed sales order system which can freely design a desired flowerbedand order the designed flowerbed by a simple procedure.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a plantarrangement planning support program capable of viewing a conceptionaldrawing of the flowerbed from a plurality of viewpoints having differentdirections and/or angles.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a plantarrangement planning support program capable of presenting a state of aflowerbed for each elapsed time from a planting time to a user.

Solution to Problem

The gists of the present invention are as follows.

[1] A flowerbed sales order system including a user terminal and aserver apparatus capable of communicating with the user terminal, thesystem comprising: an arrangement identificator configured to identifyarrangement of different colors and/or different types of plants foreach of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed, wherein the userterminal includes: an order placement request transmitter whichtransmits an order request of the flowerbed having the arrangementidentified by the arrangement identificator by an operation of a user,and the server apparatus includes: an order placement request receiverwhich receives the order request of the flowerbed.[2] The flowerbed sales order system according to [1], wherein the userterminal includes: a plant selector which accepts selection of a colorand/or a plant to be arranged for each region by an operationinstruction of the user, and the arrangement identificator identifiesarrangement of the color and/or the plant for each region according tothe color and/or the plant accepted by the plant selector.[3] The flowerbed sales order system according to [2], wherein the plantselector changes plants of which selection can be accepted according toa time of planting and/or appreciation of the plant.[4] The flowerbed sales order system according to any one of [1] to [3],wherein the user terminal includes a shape selector which acceptsselection of a shape and a size of the flowerbed, and the arrangementidentificator identifies arrangement of different colors and/ordifferent types of plants for each of a plurality of regions included inthe flowerbed having the shape and the size selected by the shapeselector.[5] A flowerbed sales order program to be executed by a server apparatuscapable of communicating with a user terminal causing the serverapparatus to function as: an arrangement identificator which identifiesarrangement of different colors and/or different types of plants foreach of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed; and an orderplacement request receiver which receives an order request of theflowerbed from the user terminal.[6] A flowerbed sales order program to be executed by a user terminalcapable of communicating with a server apparatus causing the userterminal to function as: an arrangement identificator which identifiesarrangement of different colors and/or different types of plants foreach of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed; and an orderplacement request transmitter which transmits an order request of theflowerbed having the arrangement identified by the arrangementidentificator to the server apparatus by an operation of a user.[7] A flowerbed sales order method executed by a flowerbed sales ordersystem including a user terminal and a server apparatus capable ofcommunicating with the user terminal, the method comprising: a step ofidentifying arrangement of different colors and/or different types ofplants for each of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed in theuser terminal or the server apparatus; a step of transmitting an orderrequest of the flowerbed having the arrangement of the different colorsand/or the different types of the plants identified by an operation of auser in the user terminal; and a step of receiving the order request ofthe flowerbed in the server apparatus.[8] A plant arrangement planning support program to make a computerdevice support a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed causing thecomputer device to function as: an arrangement identificator whichidentifies arrangement of different colors and/or different types ofplants for each of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed; adisplay data storage which stores display data corresponding to eachplant; and an image drawer which draws an image indicating a state ofthe flowerbed according to a position of each region and the plantarranged in each region based on the display data stored in the displaydata storage, wherein the image drawer is capable of drawing an imageviewed from a different direction and/or angle relative to theflowerbed.[9] A plant arrangement planning support program to make a computerdevice support a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed causing thecomputer device to function as: an arrangement identificator whichidentifies arrangement of different colors and/or different types ofplants for each of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed; adisplay data storage which stores a plurality of pieces of display dataaccording to an elapsed time from a planting time of the plant for eachplant; and an image drawer which draws an image indicating a state ofthe flowerbed for each elapsed time from the planting time of the plantaccording to the position of each region and the plant arranged in eachregion based on the display data stored in the display data storage.[10] The plant arrangement planning support program according to [8] or[9], wherein the image drawn by the image drawer is an image obtained byconverting a state of a flowerbed in a virtual three-dimensional spaceinto a two-dimensional image.[11] The plant arrangement planning support program according to any oneof [8] to [10], causing the computer device to function as: a plantselector which accepts selection of a plant to be arranged for eachregion by an operation instruction of a user, wherein the arrangementidentificator identifies the arrangement of the plant for each regionaccording to the plant accepted by the plant selector, and the plantselector changes the plant of which the selection is accepted accordingto the time of planting and/or appreciation of the plant.[12] The plant arrangement planning support program according to any oneof [8] to [11], causing the computer device to function as: an orderrequest acceptor which accepts an order request by an operationinstruction of the user; and an order reception confirmer which confirmsan order reception of the flowerbed according to the arrangement of theplant identified by the arrangement identificator when the order requestis accepted.[13] A plant arrangement planning support equipment to execute a supportof a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the device comprising:an arrangement identificator configured to identify arrangement ofdifferent colors and/or different types of plants for each of aplurality of regions included in a flowerbed; a display data storageconfigured to store display data corresponding to each plant; and animage drawer configured to draw an image indicating a state of theflowerbed according to a position of each region and the plant arrangedin each region based on the display data stored in the display datastorage, wherein the image drawer is capable of drawing an image viewedfrom a different direction and/or angle relative to the flowerbed.[14] A plant arrangement planning support equipment to execute a supportof a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the device comprising:an arrangement identificator configured to identify arrangement ofdifferent colors and/or different types of plants for each of aplurality of regions included in a flowerbed; a display data storageconfigured to store a plurality of pieces of display data according toan elapsed time from a planting time of the plant for each plant; and animage drawer configured to draw an image indicating a state of theflowerbed for each elapsed time from the planting time of the plantaccording to the position of each region and the plant arranged in eachregion based on the display data stored in the display data storage.[15] A plant arrangement planning support method to make a computerdevice support a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the methodcomprising: a step of identifying arrangement of different colors and/ordifferent types of plants for each of a plurality of regions included inthe flowerbed; and a step of drawing an image indicating a state of theflowerbed according to a position of each region and the plant arrangedin each region based on display data corresponding to each plant storedin a storage, wherein the step of drawing can draw an image viewed froma different direction and/or angle relative to the flowerbed.[16] A plant arrangement planning support method to make a computerdevice support a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the methodcomprising: a step of identifying and arranging arrangement of differentcolors and/or different types of plants for each of a plurality ofregions included in the flowerbed; and a step of drawing an imageindicating a state of the flowerbed for each elapsed time from aplanting time of the plant according to a position of each region andthe plant arranged in each region based on a plurality of pieces ofdisplay data according to the elapsed time from the planting time of theplant for each plant stored in a storage.[17] A plant display system including a display device comprising: avirtual space storage configured to store information regarding a stateof a virtual space; a plant information storage configured to storeinformation regarding a state of a plant; an image generator configuredto generate images of the virtual space and the plant to be displayed onthe display device according to a position and/or a direction of thedisplay device; and an image display configured to display the generatedimage on the display device.[18] A plant display system including a user terminal and a serverapparatus capable of communicating with the user terminal, the systemcomprising: a storage configured to store information regarding a stateof a plant and information regarding a marker associated with theinformation; an imager configured to image the marker and a background;a discerner configured to discern the marker; a plant identificatorconfigured to identify the plant from the discerned marker; an imagegenerator configured to generate an image of the identified plant; andan image display configured to display the generated image and theimaged background.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The invention according to [1] includes an arrangement identificatorwhich can identify arrangement of different colors and types of plantsin a flowerbed and design the flowerbed and an order requesttransmitter/receiver which transmits an order request of the flowerbeddesigned by a user terminal and receives the order request by a serverapparatus. That is, according to the invention described in [1], it ispossible to order the flowerbed designed by the user.

The invention according to [8] includes an image drawer which can drawan image indicating a state of the flowerbed which is a conceptionaldrawing of the flowerbed from a different direction and/or anglerelative to the flowerbed. That is, according to the invention describedin [8], since the conceptional drawing of the flowerbed planned by theuser can be viewed from the plurality of viewpoints, a situation hardlyoccurs in which the actually formed flowerbed is different from an imageof the user, and it is possible to form a flowerbed close to the imageof the user.

The invention according to [9] includes an image drawer which draws animage indicating a state of a flowerbed for each elapsed time from aplanting time of the plant. That is, according to the inventiondescribed in [9], the state of the flowerbed for each elapsed time fromthe planting time of the plant can be predicted before the flowerbed isactually formed. Therefore, the user can recognize a state of theflowerbed which changes according to time, and it is possible to form aflowerbed which is attractive throughout the year.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a flowerbed salesorder system corresponding to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a userterminal corresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a serverapparatus corresponding to at least one of the embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plant data tablecorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a plantarrangement planning support processing corresponding to at least one ofthe embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input information regarding a shape and an area of a flowerbedcorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input a color of each region forming a shape of a flowerbedcorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input a type of a plant to be arranged and planted in each regionforming a shape of a flowerbed corresponding to at least one of theembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input a viewpoint change instruction and/or a time change instructioncorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart ofprocessing of displaying a plant by using the VR corresponding to atleast one of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of generatinga marker corresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of displayinga plant by using the AR technology corresponding to at least one of theembodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, descriptionrelating to effects shows an aspect of the effects of the embodiments ofthe invention, and does not limit the effects. Further, the order ofrespective processes that form a flowchart described below may bechanged in a range without contradicting or creating discord with theprocessing contents thereof.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a flowerbed salesorder system corresponding to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the flowerbed sales order systemaccording to the present embodiment includes a plurality of userterminals 1 (user terminals 1 a, 1 b, 1 c . . . ), a communicationnetwork 2, and a server apparatus 3.

The user terminal 1 is a terminal which is used by a user to select anarea and a shape of a flowerbed and select a type and arrangement ofplants to be planted in the flowerbed, and the like. As the userterminal 1, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tabletterminal, a mobile phone, a PDA, and the like are exemplified. However,the user terminal 1 is not limited to these. It is preferable that theuser terminal 1 be an apparatus which can be connected to the serverapparatus 3 via the communication network 2.

For the communication network 2, for example, various known wired orwireless communication networks can be used such as the Internet, awired or wireless public telephone network, a wired or wireless LAN, adedicated line, and the like.

The server apparatus 3 is a management and operation server whichexchanges information with the user terminal 1, stores and analyzes acommunication history with the user terminal 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a userterminal corresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the user terminal 1 includes acontroller 11, a RAM 12, a display unit 13, a storage device 14, asensor unit 15, a communication interface 16, and the like and can beconnected to the communication network 2 via the communication interface16.

The controller 11 refers to a program and data stored in a storagedevice such as the storage device 14 and executes the program and thedata. The RAM 12 is a work area of the controller 11. An operation bythe user relative to a touch panel 13 b provided in the display unit 13and information detected by the sensor unit 15 are stored in the RAM 12as input information, and the controller 11 executes variouscomputational process based on the input information.

The display unit 13 includes a display screen 13 a which displays animage indicating information necessary for performing plant arrangementplanning such as selection of the area and the shape of the flowerbedand the type and the arrangement of the plants to be planted in theflowerbed by the user and a state of the flowerbed identified byselection of the user. Furthermore, the display unit 13 includes thetouch panel 13 b which detects pressing by a finger, stylus, and thelike and a movement of a position of the finger and the like on thepanel to detect a change in the coordinate position of the finger andthe like. The display screen 13 a and the touch panel 13 b may beintegrally formed.

The storage device 14 is used as a storage region to save programs anddata and can store data received from the server apparatus.

The sensor unit 15 includes a GPS sensor. Furthermore, the sensor unit15 may include other various sensors, for example, a fingerprintauthentication sensor, a proximity sensor, an acceleration sensor, agyro sensor, a magnetic sensor, a luminance sensor, or an atmosphericpressure sensor.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a serverapparatus corresponding to at least one of the embodiments of thepresent invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the server apparatus 3includes a controller 31, a RAM 32, a storage device 33, a communicationinterface 34, and the like and can be connected to the communicationnetwork 2 via the communication interface 34.

The controller 31 refers to a program and data stored in the storagedevice 33 and executes the program and the data. The RAM 32 is a workarea of the controller 31. The storage device 33 stores data which isinput to the user terminal 1 and received via the communicationinterface 34.

Next, a function of the user terminal 1 will be described. The userterminal 1 has a flowerbed shape input function, a planting time inputfunction, a plant arrangement input function, a plant arrangementplanning transmission function, a flowerbed state image receptionfunction, a viewpoint change instruction function, a time changeinstruction function, a change instruction transmission function, aseedling number reception function, and an order placement requesttransmission function.

The flowerbed shape input function has a function for inputtinginformation regarding the shape and the area of the flowerbed desired bythe user. The information regarding the shape of the flowerbed is inputby, for example, forming the shape of the flowerbed desired by the useron the display screen 13 a by displaying square cells including aplurality of squares on the display screen 13 a and performing anoperation of tapping of the square cell. In addition, the informationregarding the area of the flowerbed is input by, for example, making theuser input an actual length corresponding to one side of the squareforming the square cell.

The planting time input function has a function for inputtinginformation regarding a planting time and/or an appreciation timedesired by the user. The planting time and the like is input by, forexample, displaying one year on the display screen 13 a as a bar andswiping the bar. Since the planting time and a flowering time of a plantare slightly different depending on a region, it is preferable that theplanting time input function further has a function for inputtinginformation regarding the region where the flowerbed is formed. Notethat, the input of the information regarding the region where theflowerbed is formed may be omitted by setting a current position of theuser terminal 1 detected by the GPS sensor included in the sensor unit15 and an address of the user registered in advance as the flowerbedforming region.

The plant arrangement input function has a function for inputting thearrangement and the type of the plant in the flowerbed for each regionforming the flowerbed. The arrangement and the type of the plant areinput by, for example, selecting a color and a plant desired by the userfor each square cell of the plurality of square cells included in theflowerbed displayed on the display screen 13 a. For example, in a casewhere the user performs an operation for tapping the square cellincluded in the flowerbed on the display screen 13 a and the like, theselection of the color is input by making a pop-up display of a colorpalette including a plurality of colors and making the user select adesired color relative to the tapped square cell from among the colorsdisplayed in the color palette. Furthermore, the type of the plant isinput by displaying information regarding plants corresponding to thecolor selected by the user on the display screen 13 a and making theuser select a desired plant from among displayed plants. In a case wherethe planting time and the like of the plant is selected by the plantingtime input function, only information regarding the plant correspondingto the color selected by the user and corresponding to the planting timeselected by the user is displayed on the display screen 13 a. The colorand the plant desired by the user may be collectively input to theplurality of square cells.

The plant arrangement planning transmission function has a function fortransmitting information regarding the plant arrangement planning inputby the user to the server apparatus 3 via the communication interface16. Here, the term “plant arrangement planning” means a flowerbedforming plan of the user including at least the shape and the area ofthe flowerbed, and the arrangement and the type of the plants in theflowerbed.

The flowerbed state image reception function has a function forreceiving an image indicating a state of the flowerbed formed by theserver apparatus 3 based on the plant arrangement planning of the userfrom the server apparatus 3 via the communication interface 16. Thereceived image indicating the state of the flowerbed is displayed on thedisplay screen 13 a. Here, the term “image indicating the state of theflowerbed” means a conceptional drawing in a case where the flowerbed isformed based on the plant arrangement planning of the user.

The viewpoint change instruction function has a function for inputtingan instruction for changing the image indicating the state of theflowerbed received from the server apparatus 3 to an image viewed from adifferent direction and/or an angle. The viewpoint change instruction isinput by, for example, displaying a button corresponding to apredetermined direction and/or an angle on the display screen 13 a andperforming an operation such as tapping the button corresponding to adirection and/or an angle desired by the user.

The time change instruction function has a function for inputting aninstruction for changing the image indicating the state of the flowerbedreceived by the server apparatus 3 to an image indicating a state of aflowerbed at a specific time. The time change instruction is input by,for example, displaying one year on the display screen 13 a as a bar andswiping the bar.

The change instruction transmission function has a function fortransmitting information regarding the viewpoint change instructionand/or the time change instruction input by the user to the serverapparatus 3 via the communication interface 16.

The seedling number reception function has a function for receivinginformation regarding the number of seeds and/or seedings of the plantsrequired when the flowerbed is formed based on the plant arrangementplanning of the user from the server apparatus 3 via the communicationinterface 16. The seedling number reception function may further have afunction for receiving information regarding intervals between theplants to be planted in each region forming the flowerbed and anestimated cost from the server apparatus 3 via the communicationinterface 16.

The order placement request transmission function has a function fortransmitting an order request regarding the seeds and/or seedings of theplants required when the flowerbed is formed based on the plantarrangement planning of the user to the server apparatus 3 via thecommunication interface 16.

Next, a function of the server apparatus 3 will be described. The serverapparatus 3 has a plant arrangement planning reception function, a plantarrangement identification function, a display data storage function, aflowerbed state drawing function, a flowerbed state image transmissionfunction, a change instruction reception function, a seedling numbercalculation function, a seedling number transmission function, an orderrequest reception function, and an order reception confirmationfunction.

The plant arrangement planning reception function has a function forreceiving information regarding the plant arrangement planning input bythe user from the user terminal 1 via the communication interface 16 andstoring the information in the storage device 33.

The plant arrangement identification function has a function foridentifying arrangement of different colors and/or the different typesof plants for each region of a plurality of regions included in theflowerbed based on the plant arrangement planning of the user receivedby the plant arrangement planning reception function.

The display data storage function has a function for storing displaydata regarding a plant used for gardening. As the display data stored inthe display data storage function, for example, graphic data including aplurality of polygons is preferable. Furthermore, the display data maybe photograph data of the plant viewed from a plurality of differentdirections or angles corresponding to the direction and the anglerelative to the flowerbed which can be input for each of the differentcolors and/or different types of plants.

The flowerbed state drawing function has a function for drawing theimage indicating the state of the flowerbed identified by the plantarrangement identification function according to the arrangement of theregions in the flowerbed and the plants arranged in each region based onthe display data stored in the display data storage function.

The image to be drawn is preferably a two-dimensional image obtained byperspective transformation of the state of the flowerbed in a virtualthree-dimensional space with a virtual screen. Objects of the plantswhich have been arranged and planted are provided in the virtualthree-dimensional space, and the state of the flowerbed viewed from adifferent angle can be displayed as a two-dimensional image by changinga position of a virtual camera.

Note that, the position of the virtual screen is determined according tothe position of the virtual camera, and an image projected on thevirtual screen is displayed as a two-dimensional image. In a case wherethe image projected on the virtual screen is generated by perspectivetransformation, hidden surface removal is performed for removing asurface which is hidden by the other object positioned in front of theobject. As a method of the hidden surface removal, for example, a Zbuffer method can be used.

Graphic data in the virtual three-dimensional space may include, forexample, a plurality of polygons. Each of plant objects arranged andplanted in the virtual three-dimensional space includes a plurality ofpolygons arranged so as to express the shape of the plant. Each of thesepolygons is defined by identifying the coordinate of each vertex in thelocal coordinate system.

When arrangement of different colors and/or the different types ofplants is identified for each of the plurality of regions included inthe flowerbed by the plant arrangement identification function, a plantobject of the identified plant is arranged in each region in the virtualspace. These arranged plant objects (for example, center of flowerbed)are a focal point of the virtual camera. When a change in the directionand the angle relative to the flowerbed is input by the user, only theposition of the virtual camera is changed while the position of thefocal point of the virtual camera is fixed, and an image from thedifferent direction and the different angle relative to the flowerbedcan be obtained. In this case, the direction and the angle relative tothe flowerbed may be continuously changed or may be discontinuouslychanged stepwise.

Furthermore, the state of the flowerbed displayed on the display screencan be changed according to an elapsed time from the planting time ofthe plant. Regarding the plant object including the polygons, aplurality of pieces of object data is stored in advance according to theelapsed time from the planting time of the plant for each of differentcolors and/or different types of plants. When a change in the time to bedisplayed is input by the user, the plant objects arranged in eachregion are replaced with plant objects corresponding to the changed timefor each color and type of the plant. With this configuration, since agrowing or changing state of the plants in the flowerbed can beconfirmed, unbalance can be recognized in advance such that some flowersare blooming and some flowers are not blooming according to the time.

As the graphic data in the virtual three-dimensional space, photographdata can be used unlike the object including the polygons. Thephotograph data of the plant viewed from a plurality of differentdirections or angles corresponding to the direction and the anglerelative to the flowerbed which can be input is stored in advance foreach of the different colors and/or the different types of plants. Inthis case, the direction and the angle relative to the flowerbed can bechanged stepwise. When arrangement of different colors and/or differenttypes of plants is identified for each of the plurality of regionsincluded in the flowerbed by the plant arrangement identificationfunction, the photograph data regarding the identified plant is arrangedin each region to be perpendicular to a visual axis of the virtualcamera.

When a change in the direction and the angle relative to the flowerbedis input, the arranged photograph data is replaced with photograph dataaccording to the changed direction relative to the flowerbed. Thereplaced photograph data is arranged to be perpendicular to the visualaxis of the virtual camera. With this configuration, since the plantsarranged and planted by using the photograph data can be expressed as atwo-dimensional image, the state of the flowerbed closer to an actualstate can be displayed.

Furthermore, the state of the flowerbed displayed on the display screencan be changed according to an elapsed time from the planting time ofthe plant. A plurality of pieces of photograph data is stored in advanceaccording to the elapsed time from the time when planting the plant foreach of the different colors and/or the different types of plants. Whena change in the time to be displayed is input by the user, thephotograph data arranged in each region is replaced with photograph datacorresponding to the changed time for each color and type of the plant.

Furthermore, as a simpler method, the arrangement of the differentcolors and/or the different types of plants is identified for each ofthe plurality of regions included in the flowerbed, cubic objects withcolors and patterns according to the plants arranged in each region arearranged, and a two-dimensional image can be obtained by performingperspective transformation on these cubic objects by the virtual screen.In this case, when a change in the direction and the angle relative tothe flowerbed is input, the position of the virtual camera is changedwhile the position of the focal point of the virtual camera is fixed,and an image viewed from the different direction and the different anglerelative to the flowerbed can be obtained. The direction and the anglerelative to the flowerbed may be continuously changed or may bediscontinuously changed stepwise. With this configuration, the state ofthe flowerbed from a different angle and direction can be displayedwhile suppressing a processing load to be small.

Furthermore, the plant display system including a display device may bea plant display system including a virtual space storage which storesinformation regarding a state of the virtual space, a plant informationstorage which stores information regarding a state of the plant, animage generator which generates images of the virtual space and theplant to be displayed on the display device according to a positionand/or a direction of the display device, and an image display whichdisplays the generated image on the display device.

With the above configuration, since the state of the plant can bedisplayed by using the technology of Virtual Reality (VR), the user canmore specifically grasp an image of the flowerbed and the implantationwhich are actually constructed.

As the display device, a known head mount display can be used. The headmount display means general displays which can be worn on the head. Amode for wearing the display on the head is not particularly limited.However, for example, a method of wearing the display on the head as acap, a method of wearing the display on a face as glasses, a method ofattaching the display on a part of the head, or a method of covering thehead with the display by extending the display from a part of the bodycan be exemplified. By using a wearing tool with which the user terminalsuch as a smartphone can be fixed to a head of a person instead of thehead mount display, the virtual space can be displayed by using the userterminal instead of a display.

The virtual space storage can store the information regarding the stateof the virtual space. As the information regarding the state of thevirtual space, a plurality of backgrounds related to places which aregenerally assumed as places where the flowerbeds and the implantationsare provided can be stored in a computer device in advance.

The term “virtual space” is, for example, a space defined by a programand data and indicates a virtual space generated by a computer. The usercan select a background close to an atmosphere of the place where theflowerbed and the implantation are planned to be provided from among theplurality of virtual space options.

The type of the virtual space which can be selected is not particularlylimited. However, the type is, for example, a park, a school, a homegarden, or a theme park. Furthermore, as the virtual space, it ispossible that an image imaging 360 degrees (omnidirectional photograph,celestial sphere photograph, and the like) is imaged by the user and theimaged image of 360 degrees is stored and used as the background of thevirtual space.

As the computer device, a known computer device can be used as long asit can be connected to the display device such as a head mount displayby communication and can perform calculation and input/output to executeimage display processing.

The plant information storage can store the information regarding thestate of the plant. The information regarding the state of the plant isinformation regarding types and colors of plants used for the flowerbedand the implantation which are temporarily registered by making theplant arrangement planning, for example, plants used for a flowerbed andan implantation designed by the user. The information regarding thestate of the plant can be stored in the storage device of the computerdevice or the user terminal.

The image generator can generate images of the virtual space and theplant to be displayed on the display device according to the positionand/or the direction of the display device. Each time when the positionor the direction of the display device such as the head mount display ischanged, the computer device generates a new image by synthesizing theimage of the virtual space and the image of the plant, and theinformation regarding the generated image is transmitted to the displaydevice such as the head mount display. The method of generating theimage is not particularly limited. However, an image can be generated byusing the perspective transformation method described above and thelike.

The image display can display the generated image on the display device.By continuously displaying the generated images frame by frame, a videoof the virtual space and the plant is continuously displayed accordingto a change in the position or the direction of the display device suchas a head mount display.

Processing of displaying the image of the plant by using the VRtechnology will be described with reference to a flowchart illustratedin FIG. 10. First, at the display device, the position and/or thedirection of the display device is obtained (step S11). The displaydevice transmits information regarding the position and/or the directionof the display device (step S12), and the computer device receives theinformation regarding the position and/or the direction of the displaydevice (step S13).

The computer device generates images of the virtual space and the plantto be displayed on the display device according to the position and/orthe direction of the display device (step S14) and transmits informationregarding the generated image (step S15). When the display devicereceives the information regarding the generated image (step S16), thedisplay device displays the images of the virtual space and the plant(step S17).

As described above, by continuously executing the processing ofobtaining the position and/or the direction of the display device to theprocessing of displaying the images of the virtual space and the plant,the video of the virtual space and the plant is continuously displayed.

Furthermore, the plant display system including the user terminal andthe server apparatus which can communicate with the user terminal may bea plant display system which includes a storage which stores theinformation regarding the state of the plant and information regarding amarker associated with the above information, an imager which images themarker and the background, a discerner which discerns the marker, aplant identificator which identifies the plant from the discernedmarker, an image generator which generates an image of the identifiedplant, and an image display which displays the generated image and theimaged background.

With the above configuration, since the state of the plant can bedisplayed by using the technology of Augmented Reality (AR), the usercan more specifically grasp an image of the flowerbed and theimplantation which are actually constructed.

The storage stores the information regarding the state of the plant andthe information regarding the marker associated with the informationregarding the state of the plant. The information regarding the state ofthe plant is information regarding types and colors of plants used forthe flowerbed and the implantation which are temporarily registered bymaking the plant arrangement planning, for example, plants used for aflowerbed and an implantation designed by the user. The aboveinformation can be stored in the storage device of the server apparatusand the user terminal to be used.

As a marker of an AR image of the plant, a two-dimensional barcode canbe used. The marker may be generated each time when a marker generationrequest is received and may be generated in advance when the plantarrangement planning is made and information of the flowerbed and theimplantation is temporarily registered. The information regarding themarker can be stored in the storage device of the server apparatus.

The imager images the marker and the background. The user places themarker generated based on the information of the designed flowerbed andimplantation and the like at a place where the user desires to providethe flowerbed and the implantation, and the background in which theplant is placed is imaged by a camera function of the user terminal. Amarker of the plant output by a marker output device can be used.

The type of the marker output device is not particularly limited as longas the device can receive marker information and can output the marker.The marker output device is, for example, a laptop computer, a desktoppersonal computer, a printer, or a tablet terminal.

In a case where a laptop computer, a desktop personal computer, or thelike are used as the marker output device, a mode can be used in whichthe marker is output by printing the marker on a paper medium from aprinter and the like in response to a predetermined output operationrelative to the laptop computer and the desktop personal computer.Furthermore, a mode may be used in which the printer and the userterminal are directly connected to each other by communication and theprinter directly prints the marker.

In a case where a tablet terminal and the like is used as the markeroutput device, the marker can be output by displaying the marker on adisplay screen of the tablet terminal. Furthermore, a mode can be usedin which the marker is printed and output on a paper medium from theprinter and the like in response to a predetermined output operationrelative to the tablet terminal.

The discerner discerns the marker. The marker can be discerned byimaging an entire surface of the marker at an appropriate focal pointdistance from the front. In a case where the marker can be discerned,the marker information is obtained by the user terminal, and theprocedure proceeds to processing of identifying the plant. When themarker cannot be discerned, imaging by the user terminal is continued.The case where the marker cannot be discerned is, for example, a casewhere the marker is imaged from an oblique direction, a case where apart of the marker is not imaged, a case where the focal point ofimaging does not match the marker, and the like.

The plant identificator identifies a plant from the discerned marker.The plant is identified by identify the location of data of the plantfrom information included in the marker such as an URL. The data of theplant can be stored in the storage device of the server apparatus.

The image generator generates an image of the identified plant. Theimage of the plant is generated according to the position and/or thedirection of the user terminal. That is, each time when the userterminal is moved, an image according to the position and/or thedirection of the user terminal is generated. The method of generatingthe image is not particularly limited. However, an image can begenerated by using the perspective transformation method described aboveand the like.

The image display displays the generated image and the imagedbackground. The generated image of the plant is synthesized with theimaged background and displayed on the user terminal. With such adisplay mode, an AR image of the plant and a background video of anactual space are superimposed and displayed on the display screen of theuser terminal.

Processing of generating the marker to displaying the image of the plantby using the AR technology will be described with reference to aflowchart illustrated in FIG. 11. First, when the user performs apredetermined operation such as tapping, the user terminal accepts aninput of the marker generation request (step S21). When the userterminal transmits the marker generation request (step S22), the serverapparatus receives the marker generation request (step S23).

After a controller of the server apparatus has generated the marker(step S24), the server apparatus transmits the marker information (stepS25), and the marker output device receives the marker information (stepS26). When the marker output device accepts an input of a marker outputrequest, the marker output device outputs the marker (step S28), and themarker output processing is completed.

Processing of displaying the image of the plant by using the ARtechnology will be described with reference to a flowchart illustratedin FIG. 12. First, the marker and the background are imaged by thecamera function of the user terminal (step S31).

At that time, in a case where the user terminal can discern the marker(YES in step S32), the user terminal obtains the marker information(step S33). In a case where the user terminal cannot discern the marker(NO in step S32), imaging by the user terminal is continued (step S31).

When the user terminal obtains the marker information (step S33), theuser terminal transmits the marker information (step S34). When theserver apparatus receives the marker information (step S35), plantinformation associated with the marker information is identified (stepS36). After identifying and obtaining the plant information (step S37),the server apparatus transmits the plant information (step S38).

When the user terminal receives the plant information (step S39), theuser terminal generates an image of the plant (step S40). After theimage of the plant has been generated, the image of the plant and theimaged background are synthesized (step S41). The synthesized plantimage and imaged background is displayed on the user terminal (stepS42).

As described above, by continuously executing the imaging processing tothe processing of displaying the plant image and the imaged background,a video of the imaged background and the plant is continuously displayedaccording to the change in the position or the direction of the userterminal.

Note that a mechanism of a markerless AR which does not generate themarker may be used. In a case where the mechanism of the markerless ARis used, by making the controller of the user terminal identify a placewhere a plant is provided as recognizing an enclosure of the flowerbedor the implantation as a marker, it is possible to display computergraphics of the plant which has been temporarily registered and the likeon the display screen which is imaging the identified place.

Furthermore, the AR image may have a mode in which the designedflowerbed or implantation is converted into a two-dimensional image, thetwo-dimensional image of the plant is displayed on the display screen ofthe user terminal in a state where a display position of thetwo-dimensional image of the plant is fixed, and the two-dimensionalimage of the plant and the background image of the actual space imagedby a camera of the user terminal are superimposed and displayed. In theabove mode, by superimposing the two-dimensional image of the plant on aplace where it is planned to construct a flowerbed while changing thebackground image of the actual space imaged by the camera of the userterminal by an operation such as changing the direction or the positionof the user terminal and the like, the user can grasp an entire image ina case where the flowerbed or the implantation is constructed.

The flowerbed state image transmission function has a function fortransmitting information regarding an image indicating the state of theflowerbed drawn by the flowerbed state drawing function to the userterminal 1 via the communication interface 16.

The change instruction reception function has a function for receivinginformation regarding the viewpoint change instruction and/or the timechange instruction input by the user from the user terminal 1 via thecommunication interface 16. When the viewpoint change instruction and/orthe time change instruction is received, the flowerbed state drawingfunction draws an image according to the received change instruction,and the flowerbed state image transmission function transmits the imageto the user terminal 1 via the communication interface 16.

The seedling number calculation function has a function for calculatinginformation regarding the number of seeds and/or seedlings of the plantrequired when the flowerbed is formed based on the plant arrangementplanning of the user. Note that the seedling number calculation functionmay further have a function for calculating intervals between the plantsto be planted in each region included in the flowerbed and an estimatedcost.

The seedling number transmission function has a function fortransmitting the information regarding the number of seeds and/orseedings of the plant, which has been calculated by the seedling numbercalculation function, required when the flowerbed is formed based on theplant arrangement planning of the user to the user terminal 1 via thecommunication interface 16. Note that the seedling number transmissionfunction may further have a function for receiving information regardingthe intervals between the plants to be planted in each region includedin the flowerbed and the estimated cost to the user terminal 1 via thecommunication interface 16.

The order request reception function has a function for receivinginformation regarding the order request regarding the seeds and/or theseedings of the plant required when the flowerbed is formed based on theplant arrangement planning of the user from the user terminal 1 via thecommunication interface 16 and storing the information in the storagedevice 33. The order reception confirmation function has a function forconfirming the information regarding the order request received by theorder request reception function as order reception information.

Subsequently, the premise of the embodiment of the present inventionwill be described. One example of the embodiment of the presentinvention is, for example, an application to be installed to asmartphone. When the application is activated in the user terminal 1, asinformation regarding activation, for example, discern informationapplied to the user terminal 1 is obtained. In addition, to discern theuser, a configuration may communicate with the server apparatus 3 andlogs in by using a user's account which has been previously applied, orthe discern information of the user terminal 1 which has been obtainedat the time of activation may be transmitted to the server apparatus 3.The discern information of the user terminal 1 or the user's account atthe time of login is unique data to discern the user and is stored inthe server apparatus 3 as a user ID.

Personal information of the user is stored in the server apparatus 3 inassociation with the user ID. For example, items of the personalinformation to be stored include “name”, “sex”, “data of birth”,“address”, “phone number”, “email address”, “password”, “paymentmethod”, “credit card number”, “usage history”, and the like. As thename of the user and the like, information input by the user at the timeof the first use of the application is stored.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plant data tablecorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention. In a plant data table 41, a color 43 is stored in associationwith a plant 42. For example, when the plant 42 is “hydrangea”, aplurality of colors such as “blue”, “purple”, “red”, “pink”, and “white”is stored as the color 43 in association with “hydrangea”. In addition,in the plant data table 41, a planting time 44 suitable for planting theplant, an appreciation time 45 suitable for appreciation, and photographdata 46 are stored in association with the plant 42 and the color 43.

In the photograph data 46, data on plants viewed from a plurality ofdifferent directions or angles corresponding to the directions and theangles with respect to the flowerbed that can be input is stored inadvance, and furthermore, for each of these directions and angles, aplurality of pieces of data is stored in advance in accordance with theelapsed time from a planting time. Here, the photograph data 46 isstored. However, object data defined by polygons may be stored. In theobject data, a plurality of pieces of data is stored according to theelapsed time from the planting time of the plant.

Subsequently, plant arrangement planning support processingcorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exampleof a flowchart of a plant arrangement planning support processingcorresponding to at least one of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

When flowerbed sales order processing is started, first, an input screento input the information regarding the shape and the area of theflowerbed desired by the user is displayed on the display screen 13 a,and the shape and the area of the flowerbed are determined by anoperation such as tapping on the input screen and the like (step S1).

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input information regarding a shape and an area of the flowerbed. Onthe display screen 13 a, a flowerbed shape input region 62 including aplurality of square cells 61, a length input region 63 to which anactual length corresponding to one side of the square cell 61 is input,and a determination button 64 for confirming the information input inthe flowerbed shape input region 62 and the length input region 63 aredisplayed.

The user inputs the shape of the flowerbed by tapping the square cell 61displayed on the display screen 13 a. The square cell 61 tapped by theuser is a square cell selected by the user as a region forming the shapeof the flowerbed and is displayed in a different color. By displayingthe selected square cell in a color different from that of the othersquare cells, the shape of the flowerbed can be clarified which iscurrently formed by the user's selection. In FIG. 6, the square cells 61a to 61 f are displayed in a color different from that of the othersquare cells 61, and the shape formed by the square cells 61 a to 61 fbecomes the shape of the flowerbed. Note that a mode indicating thesquare cell selected by the user may be a mode in which an outline ofthe shape formed by the selected square cells is displayed by a thickline or a colored line or a mode in which a pattern such as hatching isapplied to the selected square cells.

When the user taps the length input region 63 displayed on the displayscreen 13 a, lengths selectable as the actual length corresponding tothe length of one side of the square cell 61 are displayed in apull-down manner. The user selects a desired length from among theselectable lengths displayed in a pull-down manner to determine the areaof the flowerbed. Note that the selectable length may be selected bydirectly inputting a value. The user taps the determination button 64 todetermine the shape and the area of the flowerbed.

When the shape and the area of the flowerbed are determined in step S1,next, an input screen to input a color of each region forming the shapeof the flowerbed is displayed on the display screen 13 a, and the colorof each region forming the shape of the flowerbed is determined by anoperation such as tapping on the input screen (step S2).

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input a color of each region forming a shape of a flowerbed. On thedisplay screen 13 a, a square cells 71 of plurality of square formingthe shape of the flowerbed, a color selection start button 72, a colorpalette 73, and a determination button 74 for confirming input colorinformation are displayed. The user taps the square cell 71 which isdisplayed on the display screen 13 a as the region forming the shape ofthe flowerbed to select the square cell 71 to which the color is input.A plurality of square cells can be simultaneously selected as the squarecells 71 to which the color is input.

Next, when the color selection start button 72 is tapped, the colorpalette 73 including a plurality of colors is displayed as a pop-up. Theuser selects a desired color from among the colors included in the colorpalette 73 to input the color to the selected square cell 71. Note thatthe color palette 73 may be displayed on the display screen 13 a fromthe beginning without providing the color selection start button 72.Furthermore, a configuration may be used in which the color palette 73is displayed as a pop-up when the square cell 71 to which the color isinput is selected. When the determination button 74 is tapped in a statewhere the inputs of the colors to all the square cells 71 have beencompleted, the input of the color is completed.

In FIG. 7, square cells 71 a to 71 c are square cells to which the colorhas been already input, and the input color is displayed in the squarecells 71 a to 71 c. Square cells 71 d and 71 e are square cells whichare currently selected by the user as square cells to which colors areinput. According to a mode for highlighting, displaying an outline by athick line or a colored line, or applying a pattern such as hatching, itis clearly indicated that the square cells 71 d and 71 e are selected bythe user. By selecting a color desired by the user from among the colorsincluded in the color palette 73, the colors are input to the squarecells 71 d and 71 e. A square cell 71 f is a square cell to which acolor is not input and is not selected as a square cell to which a coloris input.

When the color of each region included in the flowerbed is determined instep S2, next, an input screen to input the type of the plant to bearranged and planted in each region is displayed on the display screen13 a, and the type of the plant to be planted in each region forming theshape of the flowerbed is determined by an operation such as tapping onthe input screen and the like (step S3).

When the user selects the type of the plant in step S3, types of theplant which can be selected can be limited in advance according to thecolor determined in step S2. For example, in a case where the colordetermined in step S2 is “blue”, it is possible that only the plant 42having a color, which is same as the color determined in step S2,registered in the color 43 with reference to the plant data table 41 canbe selected. With this configuration, there is no case where the typeand the color of the plant desired by the user do not exist and the userneeds to repeatedly make inputs, and convenience for the user can beenhanced.

In addition, in step S3, when the user selects the type of the plant,the type of the plant which can be selected can be limited in advanceaccording to the planting time and the appreciation time of the plant.In this case, it is preferable that an input regarding the planting timeand the appreciation time of the plant from the user be accepted beforethe user selects the color and the type of the plant. For example, in acase where an input of “April” is accepted as an appreciation time fromthe user, with reference to the plant data table 41, it may also bepossible that only the plants 42 of which the appreciation time of“April” which is the same as the appreciation time input by the user isregistered as the appreciation time 45 can be selected.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input a type of a plant to be arranged and planted in each regionforming a shape of a flowerbed. On the display screen 13 a, a selectiontarget color display column 81 in which a color to be selected isdisplayed, a plant image display column 82, a plant information displaycolumn 83, and a determination button 84 are displayed.

In FIG. 8, a comment “Please select a yellow flower” is displayed in theselection target color display column 81, and this indicates that theuser is currently selecting a plant having a yellow color. The colorselected in the selection target color display column 81 is one of thecolors selected by the user in step S2.

In the plant image display column 82, an image of a plant having aflower or a leaf with a color of which the selection is instructed inthe selection target color display column 81 is displayed. In the plantinformation display column 83, the plant information corresponding tothe image displayed on the plant image display column 82 is displayed.The plant information displayed on the plant image display column 82 inFIG. 8 includes the name of the plant, a seeding time, a flowering time,a height, an area necessary for growth, and a ratio of flowers andleaves. In addition, shade tolerance, difficulty in plant growth, aprice, and the like may be displayed. In addition, it may also bepossible to configure that the images of the plurality of types ofplants and/or the plurality of pieces of plant information areconcurrently displayed.

The user selects a desired plant by an operation such as swiping on thedisplay screen 13 a and determines the type of the plant by an operationsuch as tapping on the determination button 84. In a case where the userhas selected a plurality of colors in step S2, the above selection ismade for each color.

In the above, a mode has been described in which the type of the plantcorresponding to the selected color is selected after the colors of allthe regions included in the flowerbed have been selected. However, itmay also be possible that the color relative to at least one regionincluded in the flowerbed is selected, and immediately after that, thetype of the plant corresponding to the color is selected. For example,it may also be possible to configure so that the steps S2 and S3 arecompleted for each region included in the flowerbed. With thisconfiguration, for the regions to which the same color is selected,different types of plants can be arranged and planted, and accordingly,a flowerbed with diversity can be formed.

When the color and the type of the plant are identified for each of theplurality of regions included in the flowerbed by the processing insteps S1 to S3, a price to form the flowerbed based on the plantarrangement planning is calculated (step S4). For example, a price perunit area or per region is determined for each plant or each color ofthe plant, a total price required for forming the flowerbed iscalculated based on the plants selected in the plant arrangementplanning. The calculated price is displayed on the display screen 13 a(step S5).

When the arrangement of different colors and/or the different types ofplants is identified for each of the plurality of regions included inthe flowerbed, an image indicating the state of the flowerbed is drawnand is displayed on the display screen 13 a (step S6). When the imageindicating the state of the flowerbed is drawn, the photograph data 46corresponding to the identified plant is extracted for each regionincluded in the flowerbed with reference to the plant data table 41, andthe photograph data according to the direction and the angle relative tothe flowerbed is arranged. By performing the perspective transformationon the virtual space in which these photograph data is arranged assetting the center of the flowerbed as the focal point of the virtualcamera, the image indicating the state of the flowerbed is generated.

In a case where the user issues the viewpoint change instruction and/orthe time change instruction (YES in step S7), the image indicating thestate of the flowerbed is drawn and is displayed on the display screen13 a based on the change instruction of the user (step S6). When thechange in the direction and the angle relative to the flowerbed isinput, the arranged photograph data is replaced with photograph dataaccording to the changed direction relative to the flowerbed withreference to the plant data table 41, and an image is generated again.Furthermore, when the change in the time to be displayed is input by theuser, the photograph data arranged for each region is replaced withphotograph data corresponding to a changed time with reference to theplant data table 41, and an image is drawn again.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an input screento input a viewpoint change instruction and/or a time changeinstruction. On the display screen 13 a, an image display region 91, atime meter 92, a viewpoint change button 93, and an image save button 94are displayed.

In the image display region 91, the image indicating the state of theflowerbed drawn in step S6 is displayed. The time meter 92 is a meter toinstruct to change the time of the image displayed in the image displayregion 91, and one year is displayed as a bar. The user can change thestate of the flowerbed displayed on the display screen 13 a according toan elapsed time from the planting time of the plant by an operation suchas swiping the time meter 92.

The viewpoint change button 93 is a button to instruct to change theviewpoint of the image, indicating the state of the flowerbed, to bedrawn. The user can obtain an image viewed from the different directionor angle relative to the flowerbed by an operation such as tapping onthe viewpoint change button 93. For example, when a viewpoint changebutton 93 a is tapped, an image is displayed of which a viewpoint ismoved by a predetermined distance to the left side with respect to astraight line connecting the viewpoint of the image indicating the stateof the flowerbed to the center of the flowerbed displayed in the imagedisplay region 91. Furthermore, when a viewpoint change button 93 d istapped, an image is displayed of which a viewpoint is moved by apredetermined distance to the right side with respect to the straightline connecting the viewpoint of the image indicating the state of theflowerbed to the center point of the flowerbed displayed in the imagedisplay region 91. Furthermore, when a viewpoint change button 93 b or93 c is tapped, an image is displayed in which the center of theflowerbed is viewed from a viewpoint which is obtained by moving theviewpoint of the image indicating the state of the flowerbed displayedin the image display region 91 upward or downward in a height directionby a predetermined distance.

Furthermore, in FIG. 9, a case where the direction and the anglerelative to the flowerbed are discontinuously changed stepwise isillustrated. However, it is also possible to continuously change thedirection and the angle relative to the flowerbed of the viewpointchange instruction. The continuous change in the direction and the anglerelative to the flowerbed is, for example, made by an operation such asswiping the image display region 91. In this case, the viewpointrelative to the flowerbed is changed according to the direction and thelength of the swipe.

The image save button 94 is an image to save the plant arrangementplanning of the user corresponding to the image indicating the state ofthe flowerbed displayed in the image display region 91 and/or the imageindicating the state of the displayed flowerbed in the user terminal 1and/or the server apparatus 3. The saved image and the like can beshared by other users via the communication network 2. The shared imageindicating the state of the flowerbed can be freely browsed by theusers. The user can make a plant arrangement planning based on theshared image or plant arrangement planning which has been edited.

In a case where the user satisfies the image indicating the state of theflowerbed displayed on the display screen 13 a in step S6, the viewpointchange instruction and/or the time change instruction is not issued (NOin step S7), and the user terminal 1 is operated and instructed. Withthis operation, the plant-arrangement-planned flowerbed can betemporarily registered, for example, can be put into a so-called“shopping cart” (step S8). The user can continue to make a plantarrangement planning for another flowerbed. By repeatedly executing theprocessing in steps S1 to S8, plant arrangement planning of a pluralityof flowerbeds can be made, and the made flowerbeds can be put into theshopping cart. Accordingly, a procedure for collectively purchase theflowerbeds can be performed.

By making the plant arrangement planning by the processing in steps S1to S6, it is possible to log in the flowerbed sales order system againand order the flowerbed after logging out from the flowerbed sales ordersystem as the flowerbed of which the shape has been identified and thecolor of each region and the type of the flower have been selected isstored in the server apparatus 3. Similarly, the flowerbed which hasbeen temporarily registered by putting the flowerbed into the “shoppingcart” can be stored in the server apparatus 3. The content of theflowerbed to which the plant arrangement planning has been made isstored in association with the discern information of the user terminal1.

When the plant-arrangement-planned flowerbed is temporarily registeredin step S8, an order button to confirm the order is displayed on thedisplay screen 13 a of the user terminal. Furthermore, a cost in a casewhere the flowerbed put into the shopping cart is ordered is displayedon the display screen 13 a. Regarding the cost, a cost of an individualflowerbed put into the shopping cart and a total cost of the pluralityof flowerbeds put into the shopping cart are displayed. After confirmingthe total cost in a case where the flowerbeds are ordered, the user candelete a part of the flowerbeds put into the shopping cart from theshopping cart or can make the plant arrangement planning regarding apart of the flowerbeds put into the shopping cart again. In a case wherethe plant arrangement planning of a part of the flowerbeds put into theshopping cart is revised, the processing in steps S1 to S8 is executedagain on the flowerbeds to be revised.

When the order button is tapped by an operation instruction by the user,an order request is transmitted to the server apparatus 3 (step S9). Inthis case, all the flowerbeds put into the shopping cart and temporarilyregistered are subject to the order request. The user can order todeliver or to make the flowerbed based on the plant arrangement planningmade by the user. In addition, the user can order seeds, seedlings, andthe like of plants required for forming the flowerbed. The user mayselect whether to order to deliver or make the flowerbed or order onlythe delivery of the seeds, seedlings, and the like of the plants.

When the order request of the user is transmitted to the serverapparatus 3 in step S9, the server apparatus 3 receives an ordercontent, and the order content is stored in the storage device 33 of theserver apparatus 3, and the order is confirmed (step S10). An operatorof the sales order system according to the present invention preparesthe ordered seeds and seedlings of the plants or forms a flowerbedaccording to the order content and delivers the product to a user'saddress which has been registered in advance.

In the mode described above, an embodiment with the system including theuser terminal and the server apparatus has been described. However, thepresent invention can be applied to an embodiment using only the userterminal. In the embodiment using only the user terminal, the functionperformed by the server apparatus in the above mode is performed by theuser terminal.

1. A flowerbed sales order system including a user terminal and a serverapparatus capable of communicating with the user terminal, the systemcomprising: an arrangement identificator configured to identifyarrangement of different colors and/or different types of plants foreach of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed, wherein the userterminal includes: an order placement request transmitter whichtransmits an order request of the flowerbed having the arrangementidentified by the arrangement identificator by an operation of a user,and the server apparatus includes: an order placement request receiverwhich receives the order request of the flowerbed.
 2. The flowerbedsales order system according to claim 1, wherein the user terminalincludes: a plant selector which accepts selection of a color and/or aplant to be arranged for each region by an operation instruction of theuser, and the arrangement identificator identifies arrangement of thecolor and/or the plant for each region according to the color and/or theplant accepted by the plant selector.
 3. The flowerbed sales ordersystem according to claim 2, wherein the plant selector changes plantsof which selection can be accepted according to a time of plantingand/or appreciation of the plant.
 4. The flowerbed sales order systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the user terminal includes a shapeselector which accepts selection of a shape and a size of the flowerbed,and the arrangement identificator identifies arrangement of differentcolors and/or different types of plants for each of a plurality ofregions included in the flowerbed having the shape and the size selectedby the shape selector.
 5. A non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium including a flowerbed sales order program to be executed by aserver apparatus capable of communicating with a user terminal causingthe server apparatus to function as: an arrangement identificator whichidentifies arrangement of different colors and/or different types ofplants for each of a plurality of regions included in a flowerbed; andan order placement request receiver which receives an order request ofthe flowerbed from the user terminal.
 6. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium including a flowerbed sales orderprogram to be executed by a user terminal capable of communicating witha server apparatus causing the user terminal to function as: anarrangement identificator which identifies arrangement of differentcolors and/or different types of plants for each of a plurality ofregions included in a flowerbed; and an order placement requesttransmitter which transmits an order request of the flowerbed having thearrangement identified by the arrangement identificator to the serverapparatus by an operation of a user.
 7. A flowerbed sales order methodexecuted by a flowerbed sales order system including a user terminal anda server apparatus capable of communicating with the user terminal, themethod comprising: identifying arrangement of different colors and/ordifferent types of plants for each of a plurality of regions included ina flowerbed in the user terminal or the server apparatus; transmittingan order request of the flowerbed having the arrangement of thedifferent colors and/or the different types of the plants identified byan operation of a user in the user terminal; and receiving the orderrequest of the flowerbed in the server apparatus.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium including a plant arrangementplanning support program to make a computer device support a plantarrangement planning in a flowerbed causing the computer device tofunction as: an arrangement identificator which identifies arrangementof different colors and/or different types of plants for each of aplurality of regions included in a flowerbed; a display data storagewhich stores display data corresponding to each plant; and an imagedrawer which draws an image indicating a state of the flowerbedaccording to a position of each region and the plant arranged in eachregion based on the display data stored in the display data storage,wherein the image drawer is capable of drawing an image viewed from adifferent direction and/or angle relative to the flowerbed.
 9. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium including a plantarrangement planning support program to make a computer device support aplant arrangement planning in a flowerbed causing the computer device tofunction as: an arrangement identificator which identifies arrangementof different colors and/or different types of plants for each of aplurality of regions included in a flowerbed; a display data storagewhich stores a plurality of pieces of display data according to anelapsed time from a planting time of the plant for each plant; and animage drawer which draws an image indicating a state of the flowerbedfor each elapsed time from the planting time of the plant according tothe position of each region and the plant arranged in each region basedon the display data stored in the display data storage.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable recording medium including the plantarrangement planning support program according to claim 8, wherein theimage drawn by the image drawer is an image obtained by converting astate of a flowerbed in a virtual three-dimensional space into atwo-dimensional image.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium including the plant arrangement planning supportprogram according to claim 8, causing the computer device to functionas: a plant selector which accepts selection of a plant to be arrangedfor each region by an operation instruction of a user, wherein thearrangement identificator identifies the arrangement of the plant foreach region according to the plant accepted by the plant selector, andthe plant selector changes the plant of which the selection is acceptedaccording to the time of planting and/or appreciation of the plant. 12.The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including theplant arrangement planning support program according to claim 8, causingthe computer device to function as: an order request acceptor whichaccepts an order request by an operation instruction of the user; and anorder reception confirmer which confirms an order reception of theflowerbed according to the arrangement of the plant identified by thearrangement identificator when the order request is accepted.
 13. Aplant arrangement planning support equipment to execute a support of aplant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the device comprising: anarrangement identificator configured to identify arrangement ofdifferent colors and/or different types of plants for each of aplurality of regions included in a flowerbed; a display data storageconfigured to store display data corresponding to each plant; and animage drawer configured to draw an image indicating a state of theflowerbed according to a position of each region and the plant arrangedin each region based on the display data stored in the display datastorage, wherein the image drawer is capable of drawing an image viewedfrom a different direction and/or angle relative to the flowerbed.
 14. Aplant arrangement planning support equipment to execute a support of aplant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the device comprising: anarrangement identificator configured to identify arrangement ofdifferent colors and/or different types of plants for each of aplurality of regions included in a flowerbed; a display data storageconfigured to store a plurality of pieces of display data according toan elapsed time from a planting time of the plant for each plant; and animage drawer configured to draw an image indicating a state of theflowerbed for each elapsed time from the planting time of the plantaccording to the position of each region and the plant arranged in eachregion based on the display data stored in the display data storage. 15.A plant arrangement planning support method to make a computer devicesupport a plant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the methodcomprising: identifying arrangement of different colors and/or differenttypes of plants for each of a plurality of regions included in theflowerbed; and drawing an image indicating a state of the flowerbedaccording to a position of each region and the plant arranged in eachregion based on display data corresponding to each plant stored in astorage, wherein the drawing can draw an image viewed from a differentdirection and/or angle relative to the flowerbed.
 16. A plantarrangement planning support method to make a computer device support aplant arrangement planning in a flowerbed, the method comprising:identifying and arranging arrangement of different colors and/ordifferent types of plants for each of a plurality of regions included inthe flowerbed; and drawing an image indicating a state of the flowerbedfor each elapsed time from a planting time of the plant according to aposition of each region and the plant arranged in each region based on aplurality of pieces of display data according to the elapsed time fromthe planting time of the plant for each plant stored in a storage.
 17. Aplant display system including a display device comprising: a virtualspace storage configured to store information regarding a state of avirtual space; a plant information storage configured to storeinformation regarding a state of a plant; an image generator configuredto generate images of the virtual space and the plant to be displayed onthe display device according to a position and/or a direction of thedisplay device; and an image display configured to display the generatedimage on the display device.
 18. A plant display system including a userterminal and a server apparatus capable of communicating with the userterminal, the system comprising: a storage configured to storeinformation regarding a state of a plant and information regarding amarker associated with the information; an imager configured to imagethe marker and a background; a discerner configured to discern themarker; a plant identificator configured to identify the plant from thediscerned marker; an image generator configured to generate an image ofthe identified plant; and an image display configured to display thegenerated image and the imaged background.